Sunday, June 10, 2012

**All Sunday events will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center (BCC), unless noted otherwise

7:30 - 8:30 AM
Continental Breakfast
Start your morning on the right foot with ASTRA. Join us for a continental breakfast and chat with ASTRA friends over hot coffee and scrumptious pastries.

7:30 - 8:30 AM
Breakfast for New Members and First Time Attendees
Welcome, willkommen, bienvenue, welcome! Newcomers bring loads of fresh ideas and energy to Marketplace & Academy. We would like to get to know you! Stop by for a casual breakfast with the ASTRA Board and veteran members, and get an overview of membership benefits and how to make the most of Marketplace & Academy.

Opening Keynote Session
8:30 - 10:30 AM
Making Your Store A Destination...with CRACKLE!
Rich Kizer & Georganne Bender, Consumer Anthropologists
You may have noticed something missing in many retail stores lately. Too many stores look and feel the same: stale, uninspired, and staffed with people who look like they would rather be somewhere else, doing something else. Not your store, you say? How do you know? What if your perception is wrong?

You want your customers to feel that wonderful sense of anticipation when they walk in your door. Consumer Anthropologists Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender call it “The Crackle Factor™”.

Learn how to make your sales floor crackle again by understanding:
• What today’s demanding customers expect
• How to see your store exactly as your customers see it
• Street-savvy relationship building techniques
• Low-cost and no-cost ideas to motivate associates

11:00 AM – NOON
Choose One Session

Retail Session
Are Your Promotions Causing Commotions?
Rich Kizer & Georganne Bender, Consumer Anthropologists
Do you long for traffic-building, door-spinning events and promotions in your store that attract customers like crazy? This seminar is chock full of insider tricks of the trade and practical suggestions that will help you blow away your competition without blowing your budget. You’ll learn how to host retailer-tested major and minor events and promotions that span all seasons, plus marketing ideas, PR plans and all the how-to instructions, ad slicks, templates and more you’ll need to thrill your customers and drive your competition crazy.

Retail Session
Triple Your Profit with Realistic Planning
Al Bates, Profit Planning Group
Only about 10% of all companies make an adequate profit. Most independent retailers have an income statement that misleads them about the profit they are actually generating and reports that help them look over their shoulder, but do nothing about planning for the future. This session will demonstrate how to develop a profit-based plan that is realistic and will help ensure financial success.

Retail Session
Small Store Panel Discussion – Make the Most Out of What You Have Now
Moderator: Jeff Franklin, Franklin’s Toys
Looking for ways to grow your small store (annual sales volume of less than $500,000) without adding square footage? This panel of specialty toy-store owners – including some with multiple, but small, locations – share tips and tricks for maximizing space, minimizing expenses and growing profits.

Retail Session
Child Development: The Importance of Play & Learning
Susan Magsamen, John Hopkins University
The good news about play is that it is fun…and much more. Play also helps kids learn and develop essential skills. This session will explore new tools that help parents, teachers, and others understand how children learn. You will hear about L-m, a web portal on the science of learning, and the Ultimate Block Party, an event that makes the research fun and understandable for families. And you won’t want to miss your introduction to Curiosityville, an innovative on- and off-line learning world for young children and their families.

NOON – 1:00 PM
Join us for a hearty lunch sponsored by ThinkFun

1:30 - 2:30 PM
Choose One Session

Retail Session
Social Media Strategies for Retailers
Rich Kizer & Georganne Bender, Consumer Anthropologists
Social Media Marketing is about saying and doing the right things to keep fans and followers engaged. It’s also an extension of your store. Is your social media doing your brand justice? Social media platforms change quickly. You’ll see
social media examples from a variety of retailers, in a variety of industries. And you’ll leave this session armed with practical, real-world social media tips and techniques to help you grow your business!

Retail Session
Getting Serious About Profit
Al Bates, Profit Planning Group
This seminar will demonstrate how to improve your financial results--not just a little, but a lot. It focuses on profit as the primary goal of your annual plan—and on prioritizing your day-to-day efforts on tasks that have the greatest pay-off. With a profit -first approach, all of the other elements of the planning process will revolve around reaching that profit goal.

Retail Session
Child Development: The Importance of Play & Learning
Susan Magsamen, John Hopkins University
For your convenience, this session is a repeat of Susan Magsamen’s discussion about online tools L-m, Ultimate Block Party, and Curiosityville. See the top of this page for the complete description.

Retail Session
Inventory Management: Learn to Love Terms of Endearment
Paul Erickson, RMSA Retail Solutions LLC
Back by Popular Demand! Retailing can be like a huge maze. To best navigate, you need to learn some key financial “terms of endearment”— profit concepts that every retailer needs to identify, understand and implement in their stores.
Get the latest on:
• How to recognize shopping patterns to maximize sales potential
• Inventory…it’s not how much you have but how much new you have
• The five truths about markdowns and how to get them under control
• GMROI says you are NOT a buyer but an investor in merchandise

Retail Session
Large Store Panel Discussion – Examining the Bigger Picture
Sponsored by UL-STR
Moderator: Phil Wrzesinski, Toy House and Baby Too
This panel discussion by several retailers with large or multiple store locations will cover management styles and philosophies about division of labor. How can you spend more time working ON your business rather than working IN it? What jobs make sense to delegate to staff? How can you, as the owner, use your time for the biggest payoff?

Sales Rep Session
Roundtable Discussion – Leading from the Middle
Led by Debby Owen, Maggie & Me
Every day, professional sales reps have opportunities to share their expertise, ultimately leading to greater profitability for the retailers they serve. They also have an obligation to keep manufacturers informed of what’s happening “on the ground”. Come ready to discuss topics of interest that are unique to the “middle man” position and learn from your peers. Each table of 6-8 reps will discuss their topic and then share with the larger group.

3:00 - 4:00 PM
Sales Rep Session
Panel Discussion - The Vendor and Sales Rep Relationship
Moderator: Dana Barnes, High Five Inc.
A panel of experienced sales reps and manufacturers will discuss the expectations and roles each play in the toy industry. In a quickly changing world, we’ll explore this topic from both sides of the street.

Manufacturer Session
Panel Discussion - Nothing Happens Until Someone...Makes It
Looking for some answers to basic – and not-so-basic – questions about manufacturing your product efficiently and cost-effectively? Don’t miss this valuable session designed to give you manufacturing solutions for today’s global economy. Our panel will discuss how trading partners can help you, how to manage production costs, ways to ensure quality control at overseas factories, how to pay overseas factories, the latest news in safety testing, and how to get product to U.S. fulfillment warehouses.

3:30 - 5:30 PM
Retail Session
Kits, Kits and More Kits…
Sponsored by Thames & Kosmos
Back by popular demand, this session lets you see for yourself why kits provide children with hours of self-directed, educational fun. Join us for an afternoon of hands-on exploration inside the box of every kit category. Learn from the manufacturer the best way to demonstrate and sell these creative, fun products to your customers and boost your holiday sales in the process. Only new-to-the-market kits will be included in this session.

5:00-6:00 PM
Manufacturer Session
Panel Discussion – Nothing Happens Until Someone…Sells It
Moderator: Lea Culliton, HABA USA
The three most important things in the toy industry are sales, sales and more sales. When your warehouse is loaded with great product, you better understand the best ways to sell it.
This session can help. From our panel of experts, learn about:
• Best practices for working with reps
• Exhibiting at industry trade shows
• How to create a catalog that sells
• Creating promotions that work for the specialty toy industry
• How to give retailers what they want most

7:00 - 11:00 PM
ASTRA's 20th Anniversary Bash - Location TBD
Sponsored by Safari
ASTRA is 20 years young in 2012, and it’s time to celebrate two decades of working together to build our retail businesses. Get all jazzed up to enjoy live music and fantastic food in an historic Baltimore location! (If you register for the full conference, this reception is included in your registration fee.)